


Untold [the word for word remix]

by litra



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, F/M, Fairy Tale Elements, M/M, Magic, Magic-Users, Pining, Podfic Welcome, Remix, Slow Burn, magic almost made them do it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-30
Updated: 2017-09-30
Packaged: 2018-12-09 22:07:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,877
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11678034
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/litra/pseuds/litra
Summary: Fairy tales have taken over Central. If Len wasn’t caught in the middle of it, he would probably find it all hilarious. As it is, he has to deal with Trolls, Lisa talking in rhyme, and wizards with no fashion sense. Oh, and he can’t even quip about it, because he’s been rendered mute. Barry better damn well be grateful.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Moriavis](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Moriavis/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Word for Word, I Stumble](https://archiveofourown.org/works/8130206) by [Moriavis](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Moriavis/pseuds/Moriavis). 



> This is a remix of Word for Word I stumble by Moriavis and was written for the DC Multiversity 2017 challenge.  
> The original story can be found at: http://archiveofourown.org/works/8130206  
> While I love the original and have done my best to stay true to Moriavis's idea, we definitely have very different writing styles. If you're more into the slow burn, and the world-building, go read that version. If you're more into action, read on. :)
> 
> Thank you to jdl71, who wonderfully volunteered to beta and herd all my commas into the proper places.

Something was off. Len couldn’t put his finger on it, but something was definitely off. He’d been back in Central for a month now, recovering from the near miss at the oculus and helping Lisa learn to manage the Rogues. Up to now, everything had seemed normal, or at least normal for Central.

He looked looked down at the river. There were ducks, a happy little family of ducks all in a line and swans…. 

He looked at the park stretching along the riverbank all the way to the Fremont Bridge, walking casually in that direction. He couldn’t quite remember if there were this many trees the last time he’d been down here. The path was almost wooded. But then he had been away for a while. Twelve little girls all in matching school uniforms followed a woman, probably a teacher down the path. Every third step they skipped in unison, arms swinging back and forth. There was a young woman sitting in the middle of some grass that the city had let grow long, she was picking daisies and braiding them together. A bluebird winged down to land on her shoulder as a squirrel flicked its tail by her knee. Over by the crosswalk a young man was leading a cow towards the farmers market.

He looked up, watching the birds swoop across the sky. There were a lot of them he had to admit that and more than just the pigeons, crows and the occasional seagull. A little red bird and a little blue bird circled each other, singing before swooping away towards the castle that hovered just beyond the city skyline.

He just couldn’t quite put his finger on it…

Len patted the cold gun in it’s holster and shook his head. He’d clearly been hanging out with too many heroes if he was trying to act the part now. Flash had handled things fine while he was away and he’d do fine for one more day, whatever the problem was. He had other plans, like meeting up with Lisa and Piper.

He could see them chatting up ahead by the bridge landing. Piper was wearing a green shirt covered in white polka dots, a long green hat and tights. Len couldn’t tell if this was some new fashion trend or if he was trying out a new costume. Lisa was going all in on her theme as well, with gold boots and a new leather jacket with gold stripes down the arms.

He was about to call out to them, when Piper nodded and started across the bridge.  Len felt a swell of potential like a fixed point in time settling into place. 

Trap, trap trap tap went the bridge.

The great arm of the troll swung up from the shadows under the arch. It was the size of a telephone poll, gray and scarred with ropes of muscle. Its fingernails dug into the asphalt, hauling it’s lumpy frame over the railing. It had to be over twelve feet tall, with stumpy legs and overlong arms like an ape, it’s chest scarred over and wearing only a loin cloth.

Len cursed and started running. Over the sound of his pounding heart he heard the troll roar.

"Who's that trapping over my bridge?"

Piper said something, gesturing across the bridge.

“Now, I'm coming to gobble you up,” the troll boomed.

“Me?” Piper asked. “Oh you don’t want me.”

Len was getting closer. He could make out Piper's words at least, but something else was holding him back.

“I’m not nearly important enough to make a meal of. Not for someone as discerning as you.” Piper bowed in place. The troll scratched its head, possibly at  the long words, possibly at his food talking back to him.

Len glanced at his sister. She was scowling. Her hand was up under her jacket, but she wasn’t doing anything. Wasn’t helping.

“If you wait just a moment, my friends will be along. If you eat them instead, you’ll be able to boast that you alone defeated the Rogues. But eat me now and you’ll be too slow to face them.”

The troll squinted past Piper, grumbled under its breath, then gestured Piper past. “Be off with you then!”

Piper had just set foot on the other side of the river when Lisa became unstuck and strode forward, trap, trap, trapping onto the bridge.

The sense of wrong was flooding Len’s senses, but even if he could name it, what could he do? They were going to have lunch across the river. They had to cross one by one. It may suck and make no sense since the bridge was four lanes wide but at least it cut down on civilian casualties. Having to outright tell people to run away in the middle of a fight was definitely a downside to the hero gig.

Lisa stepped up to the troll, smiling like the devil himself.

"Who's that trapping over my bridge?" The troll called again.

“I am Lisa, the glider, spinner of gold and weaver of tales. I am a Rogue second only to my brother and will cross this bridge.”

Len stopped at the edge of the bridge, waiting his turn.

“Now, I'm coming to gobble you up,” the troll grinned showing yellow blocky teeth. Piper may have thrown him off, but he was back in the game now.

Lisa twirled a strand of her hair around a finger and pouted. “Oh you don’t want me. I may be pretty but I’d taste foul. Besides, the other trolls would laugh if they heard you had to stoop to eating girls. Wait for my brother. He’ll be coming in a moment and then you’ll have a filling meal and something to boast about.”

The troll snorted; It sounded like a car backfiring. It stomped its feet, making the bridge shake. At last it turned to her.

“Be off with you then!”

She blew the troll a kiss as she past him.

Len stepped forward, letting his boots fall, trap, trap, trap, as he walked straight up to the troll.

"Who's that trapping over my bridge?" The troll called for a third time.

“Leonard Snart, Captain Cold, robber of ATMs. I’m Leader of the Rogues and I will cross this bridge.”

“Now,” cried the troll, “I'm coming to gobble you up!” With a cry of hunger and fury the troll launched itself at Len. 

His gun came up in a second. Except the bridge rocked from the trolls run. The beam cut across the sky.  Len dived to the side, scrambling behind a car. The troll swept one long arm through the space where Len had been. 

The troll started looking for him. It lifted the car next to him and tossed it over his head  landing with a horrendous screech of metal against the asphalt. With the second car, the troll got lucky.

Len ran, trying to find a blind spot. The troll may not have been too smart, but it was faster than it looked.

Len waited until it was distracted, throwing another car and took aim. The blast of cold hit the troll on the arm. The troll roared, but didn’t seem injured like it should have been. Worse he was now looking right at Len.

Len braced the cold gun with both hands. 

The troll hurled itself into a charge.

Captain Cold pulled the trigger.

The wide-beamed blast caught the troll center mass like a gale force wind. Even then it pushed forward, too stubborn to go down. Len held on, five seconds, six, seven.

The troll grabbed him around the waist, lifted him up and froze solid.

Len let the cold gun switch off, laughing into the wind. He’d won. He took a deep breath of the summer air. 

Something snapped.

Len tensed, slowly looking down at the cracking ice. The troll had pushed him to the edge of the bridge. He was actually being held over the water. Len had a moment to wonder if Flash was nearby, no one else would be able to get to him in time. Then the troll’s frozen arm shattered and he fell towards the water below.


	2. Chapter 2

Len was actually a strong swimmer. Anyone would have had trouble when they were weighed down by steel toed combat boots and a jacket dense enough to ward off his kind of cold. It wasn’t like he could just drop his gun either. 

The world was narrowed down to a single point. Water shimmered above him, clear as a summer sea. There was a flicker of something that might have been lightning, a flash of red. Len felt a pang of want. Barry, his hero, his scarlet speedster. This would be a really rotten way to go out, when Barry had a whole other world waiting for him.

Len felt the power settle like a band around his neck. Suddenly his gun was back in its holster, his shoes were gone, his jacket was gone. Damn he had liked that jacket. He was being pulled upward. 

Len broke the surface, tossing his head back in a wave and pulling air into his abused lungs. He pulled himself up the small rocky incline that served as a beach. It felt like he coughed up half the river. Flopping onto his back, Len stared up at the sky. 

He wondered if Lisa had seen him fall. They’d have to reschedule the lunch planning session thing.

Someone was shouting in the distance. He couldn’t tell if it was for him.

Len blinked and a figure in red was kneeling over him. The Flash’s hands twitched over him as if the hero couldn’t decide if he should touch him or not.

“Snart, are you okay? Can you move? Does anything hurt?”

Flash’s bright green eyes shimmered over his own. It was one of those crystal  moments that seemed to go on longer then it should. There was a tug just behind his heart. Len opened his mouth, coughed and settled for waving a hand. The moment ended. It didn’t feel like anything was broken, but yeah he’d definitely have a nice set of bruises. Lisa came running up as he managed to push himself up to sitting.

“What the hell?” She asked. Len opened his hand, gesturing at her. Because yeah, he was wondering that too. Whatever had made him so certain of things when they were crossing the bridge, had faded back to a background sense of wrong.

“Something weird is going on. It’s happening all over the city.” Flash’s hand zipped to his ear piece. “Yeah...got it.” he turned back to the siblings. “Cisco has a theory. I need to get back to STAR. You coming?” He said it casually enough, but there was an optimistic note behind his words.

No, optimistic would imply that he actually wanted to spend time with Len. That wasn’t the case. That kind of thinking would lead Len down the dark and dangerous path called hope. Barry was a good man, that was all. He was still under the impression that Len was worth saving. Len wasn’t deluded enough to think Flash was right, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to get what he could until the kid wised up. Len nodded and glanced over at Lisa. 

His sister was giving him an unimpressed look. “Fine, but I make no promises.”

 

<><><>

 

Getting to STAR Labs was interesting. Sure, Barry has whisked him out of danger a time or two, but he’d always been a bit too caught up to really appreciate it. The prickling lightning zipping across his skin wherever Barry touched him and the way his insides fell away like that first dive on a roller coaster, made Len’s inner adrenalin junky shout in joy. 

That was the first thing he discovered. The second thing, was that even in a place as shiny and bright as STAR labs, shoes were definitely required.

Barry set him down in the Cortex and Len staggered as pain shot up his legs. He flailed, reaching for Barry’s support but the speedster was already gone, back to the riverbank to get Lisa. Len hissed in a breath through his teeth and pushed the pain away in time to see Barry reappear with Lisa. 

They were in the Cortex. All the screens were active, red and blue dots pinging across diagrams of the city. Cisco and Caitlin were both present, the former typing furiously, the latter focused on a headset and occasionally muttering confirmations or denials.

Cisco pushed himself up from the console and gestured wildly in their direction. “Really? We’re getting help from Cold now?”

“When I got there he was fighting a troll on the Fremont bridge. He froze it and it still tossed him in the river. I don’t want to think about what would have happened if it had been someone else.” Barry met Len’s eyes for a moment and shrugged. “We need his help.”

Cisco took a breath, but Caitlin spoke over him, “I think it’s got Iris and Joe!”

In a burst of sparks Barry was beside her, looking over the screens. “What happened?”

“I think it, well, it looks like Little Red Riding Hood, but it could be a variation. Joe was fixated on Weather Wizard and when Iris got there I think whatever it is pulled her into the story. She stopped responding.”

“We’ve got to stop this. Any response from Team Arrow yet?” Barry’s voice was tense. Caitlin just shook her head.

Len had had enough. He’d known something was wrong, but this was apparently bigger than he’d thought. He needed more information. He took a breath to ask… and nothing happened. The words wouldn’t come. His mouth was moving but there was no vibration in his throat.

The others were still talking.

“Okay what if I zip over there and pull her out?” Barry asked.

“Dude we don’t need you stuck too. Besides, Red Riding hood isn’t too bad.” 

Caitlin gave Cisco a look, “Unless you count the version where the wolf eats her alive.”

“Okay yeah, we really need to find a way to stop this.”

Len clapped his hands, drawing the eyes of the room to himself. It appeared he couldn’t talk, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to make himself understood. He tugged over one of the rolling boards and printed his question in big block letters.

 

WHAT IS HAPPENING?

 

“Kind of like to know that myself.” Lisa added, but she was giving him a look. Figuring out the voice thing would have to be a priority. 

“It started this morning… we think,” Barry started.

“Midnight,” Cisco tossed in.

“Right, since then there’s been this constant…” He made a wavy gesture with his fingers. 

Cisco took over, “energy flux. No idea what caused it or why it’s not dissipating, but it’s covering most of central, and a bit of Keystone. It’s like there’s this giant dome, a perfect circle and everyone in it is…” He made a similar wavy hand gesture.

Caitlin rolled her eyes, “the word you’re looking for is magic. Just because you don’t like it doesn’t mean we can ignore the fact that there’s a castle looming over the city and people are suddenly recreating fairy tales.”

“So, what’s wrong with castles?” Lisa asked, “There’s plenty of nice things about castles and plenty of nice things in them of course.”

“Maybe but was the castle there yesterday?” Caitlin planted her hands on her hips looking smug.

“Ah… no. Okay I see your point. So we’re all under a spell?”

Barry nodded, “We don’t know what triggers it, but it's happening all over the city. I got stuck in, well, have you heard of the boy without fear?”

Len and Lisa both shook their heads.

“Okay doesn’t matter. There’s more. There was this pot that was flooding one of the boarding houses on 41st with porridge.  Morden was blowing down houses, literally, with his breath. Joe went after him, but once he got there…. We could hear Joe on the comms and he was acting really weird. So Iris went after him and now.”

“Little Red Riding Hood,” Lisa finished.

“Yeah, everyone kind of snaps out of it once the story’s over but not everyone has a happy ending.”

Well that explained a few things; the troll, but also why he couldn’t talk. Len shifted from foot to foot, the pain was still present and only getting worse. He was also starting to shiver since he hadn’t exactly had a chance to change out of his soaked clothing. There were a few stories where people were rendered mute, but only one that had his current circumstance. Not that he was any expert. That story could end a few ways and not all of them had happy endings. Even the ones that did. That little flutter in his chest tried to start up again and he ruthlessly stomped it down.

Lisa stepped closer and put a hand on his arm. “Everything okay?”

Len picked up the pen again.

 

TROLL -> THREE BILLY GOATS

 

Lisa noticed and nodded. “Yeah, with Piper…. Piper! With the troll. I completely forgot about him.”

Cisco slumped back in his chair. “I wouldn’t worry too much. According to my scanners, he’s now leading a troupe of children around Buckman Field Park. Hopefully he won't, you know, steal them away before we can fix this.”

 

FIX HOW?

 

The group looked at each other. No one made any suggestions.

“Don’t look at me.” Cisco held up his hands. “Magic is so not my field.”

“You checked the center of the circle?” Lisa prompted.

“Yeah, nothing.” Barry shook his head, “Or at least, nothing anymore. There were some scorch marks but,” he shrugged.

“If this  _ was _ a fairy tale, we’d have some kind of magical helper by now.” Caitlin muttered.

“Yeah, at this point I’d be willing to trade away my first born to get the normal Central back.”

There was another shift in the air and Len tried to curse except that again nothing came out.

 

_ Oh would you now friend of my heart, _

_ That would be quite a prize _

_ But offer not lest someone take  _

_ And leave you not but lies _

 

Len stared at Lisa, as the echoes of her voice faded away. A part of him was screaming, that wasn’t his sister. What had they done to her? They were going to pay! But that part was muffled, layered over with a certainty that this was how things were. It was natural for Lisa to talk in rhyme and hover an inch off the floor. That was who she was, at least for the moment.

Cisco stepped forward. He looked… for a moment Len didn’t see anything wrong. Then he forced himself to compare what he was seeing now, to the Cisco of a few minutes ago. His hair had fallen out of it’s ponytail and was curling around his face. His clothing was the same but there was an aura of desperation around him; as if they weren’t just comfortably worn in, but threadbare. The confidence he normally carried was gone.

Cisco bit his lip. “Please, I need your help.”

Again, Lisa spoke in an echoing mockery of her normal flirtatious tone. 

 

_ Help you do need, that much is true _

_ Your task is far from done _

_ So bargain now for help of mine _

_ The day may yet be won. _

 

“I don’t have much to offer.” Cisco gestured weakly at himself and his surroundings. “What do you want?”

 

_ Of babes I have no want or need, _

_ But you’ve a ready... mind _

_ Grant me yourself in honest trade _

_ These villains I will find. _

 

Cisco blushed nearly as bright as Barry’s suit. “I- I don’t know…”

Len had known Lisa had a thing for the mechanical engineer, but this was something else. Would Barry blush like that if propositioned?

“Careful Cisco, she can’t be trusted.” Caitlin’s voice was dreamlike, no doubt the spell at work again.

 

_ You need not trust, but to be fair _

_ Agreement twixt us two _

_ Three day you’ll have to scream my name _

_ Once the enemy’s in view _

 

All of team Flash was blushing by that point. Caitlin was pointedly looking at her keyboard. Barry glanced at Len then away again very quickly.

Cisco took a slow breath, “Okay. I agree.”

Lisa’s smile could have cut glass and she was practically glowing, there was so much power in the air around her.

 

_ Open your portal lover mine _

_ We’ll send your allies through _

_ Fear not your path, I’ll guide your hand _

_ And you’ll grant me what’s due _

 

Cisco nodded and the tension in the air seemed to crystallize. 

Len could move again, though it only took a moment to check that he still couldn’t talk. He had to reach up to put a hand on Lisa’s shoulder. She was still floating. Looking concerned wasn’t a stretch. She winked and gave him a smug little grin, so he had to assume she was fine with the deal.

Barry stepped up to his side. Their eyes met. Barry was smiling, confident, playful even. Len drew his cold gun, flipped it onto his shoulder and nodded. This was who they were, side by side, pushing each other to be the best versions of themselves. The moment held its breath. Len felt a little tug behind his heart, an urge to lean in, to kiss this amazing man before he lost the chance. He shoved the thought down, nodding to Cisco that he was ready and breaking the moment in the process.

Cisco had his gloves by that point. He slid them on, still blushing furiously. When he was ready Lisa slipped around behind him. She wrapped herself around him, her hand over his outstretched wrist. He took a breath and when he activated his powers the magic around Lisa flowed into the portal.

They didn’t know what they were walking into and they wouldn’t have any backup.

The portal opened. Captain Cold and The Flash went off to battle.

 

 


	3. Chapter 3

Windsor Heights was an upscale neighborhood, not rich exactly, but definitely on the high end of well off. Len had stolen from half of these houses back when he’d been making a name for himself. In the center of the neighborhood there was a park with a swing set, a plastic climbing structure and a soccer field. In the middle of the soccer field, a man in dark blue robes was pacing around a fire pit. The flames were purple and about as tall as the man, because magic apparently worked that way.

“I’ll pin him down, cover me.” Barry said and buzzed away.

Len of course couldn’t respond, even if he really really wanted to. This wasn’t a terrible plan, it wasn’t a plan at all. Sure they had worked together a few times, but you couldn’t just expect people to work together. Len had learned that the hard way with his Rogues. They had no idea what they were up against here.

Barry found that out the hard way.

About ten feet away from the… okay the wizard… Barry ran smack into an invisible wall. 

The wizard turned and pointed a finger at the hero.

“Flash! I was hoping the distortions would take care of you but since you’re here you can bare witness to the ascension of Felix Faust, your new master!”

Len rolled his eyes. His ascension, really? Sounded like Mr. Wizard didn’t have much of a plan either. Taking over the world wouldn’t do anyone any good, if the new evil overlord didn’t have a good grasp of economics. 

“Stop your spell. Fix Central and I’ll make sure you get a fair trial.”

The wizard laughed, which okay was fair. Then he tossed a handful of powder into the air and the bantering section of the fight was officially over.

Len started circling, he didn’t think the wizard was aware of him yet. 

Flash zipped back half a dozen feet and started up a whirlwind with his arms. The powder was blown back, scattered over the grass. Where it landed, the lawn erupted into a tangle of clawing weeds. Flash ducked in again, testing the barrior. 

Faust started chanting and the flames roared higher. Somewhere in their depths, something was stirring. 

Barry paused, hand by his ear. He shook his head and said something Len couldn’t hear. Then he was off, lightning crackling in his wake. 

Len knew that trick, Flash was gearing up to throw lightning. Len sank to one knee (he was getting really tired of the constant pain every time he took a step) and waited finger, on the trigger.

The lightning hit the barrier, which shattered like cheap glass. Flashed rushed in right behind it. Faust screamed the last word of his chant. The fire roared, the flames turning black. Barry grabbed his robes. The wizard shifted, his form melting away and being replaced by an enormous black and purple dragon.

Len pulled the trigger. 

The dragon howled. Barry might have been screaming too, but if he was, Len couldn’t hear it. The beast swung its head around, opened its mouth and shot out a stream of green flame that Mick would have been proud of. 

Len flicked his gun over to the cold-field setting. It gave him just enough time to dive out of the way. The ground behind him was ash and glass.

Len rolled, tried to come up to his feet and staggered.

Flash zipped in, weaving around the dragon’s feet. Whatever he was doing didn’t have any noticeable effect.

The dragon spread its wings, they had to be nearly the length of the field and reared up on it’s hind legs.

“You can not stop me now Flash, no matter who helps you. Surender and I will make your death quick.”

It didn’t give them a chance to respond. The gusts from its wings tore the leaves from the trees. Len brought up an arm. He couldn’t escape it. Then there was the familiar tingling of Flash’s lightning and the two of them had settled behind a car down the block.

“Okay,” Barry panted, “I’m open to suggestions.”

Len wanted to laugh and cry. He wanted to pull Barry into a kiss before they were both burned to a crisp. He had no idea what he was doing. No idea how to win. It wasn’t like there was a secret way to take down Maleficent in the original story and they were fresh out of magic swords.

“Cold, you okay?”

Len pulled himself together. There wasn’t time to freak out about the state of his life. He nodded.

Len had to take a breath before he peaked over the hood of the car. The dragon was still there of course. It was looking for them, tail lashing, claws raking gouges in the earth.

They did have a few options, as terrible as those options were.

Len turned back to Barry. He pointed at the dragon, then at his eyes.

Barry nodded, “Okay, go for its eyes, anything else?”

Len wanted to say a lot of things, but he couldn’t. The moment stretched between them. One last chance. He could lean in, kiss Barry for luck, as a promise; they’d both make it out of this. Except that wasn’t something he got to have. 

Len wasn’t a hero, he was Captain Cold. He skirted the edge of the law on a good day and outright defied it the rest of the time. He was a killer, a liar and a thief. When the scales were balanced, sure people would remember him, but he’d still have a one way ticket downstairs. Even if Barry didn’t have some kind of endless undying love for Iris West, he would deserve better then Len.

Captain Cold turned away. The moment broke, and so did the world.

Len gasped as the pain in his legs doubled. Looking down, he would have cursed, but well…. His body was blurring at the edges. He couldn’t feel it, couldn’t feel anything. His whole body had gone numb. He looked up, silently pleading with Barry, apologizing. 

The world went black.

 


	4. Chapter 4

The world was narrowed down to a single point. Water shimmered above him, clear as a summer sea. There was a flicker of something that might have been lightning, a flash of red. Len felt a pang of deja-vu.

Len felt the power settle like a band around his neck. Suddenly his gun was back in its holster, his shoes were gone, his jacket was gone. Damn he had liked that jacket. He was being pulled upward. 

Len broke the surface, tossing his head back in a wave, and pulling air into his abused lungs. He pulled himself up the small rocky incline that served as a beach. It felt like he coughed up half the river. Flopping onto his back, Len stared up at the sky. 

With his normal burst of lightning, Barry was above him. The hero looked tired and relieved and happy all at once. He was quite possibly the most amazing thing Len had ever seen.

“You’re alive. Thank God, you’re alive.”

Len rolled his eyes, breaking any tension the moment might have had. He could handle himself just fine. He opened his mouth, to tell Barry as much, but nothing came out. Well, that wasn’t ideal.

“What the hell?” Lisa said running up.

Len pushed himself up, waving that he agreed with the sentiment.

“It’s…” Barry hesitated, “It’s nothing. I can handle it. You should go home.”

Len snorted then rolled his eyes to show how much he believed the statement. 

“Yeah right.” Lisa crossed her arms. She glanced back at the bridge and her posture became more defensive than angry. “That was a troll, and…” she licked her lips and her sentence ended on almost a whisper. “That’s not right.”

“I know.”

“You know?” The anger was back and with it Lisa’s voice rose again. “Just like that? So what? Not going to share? Well fuck you mister hero. I’ll figure it out for myself.”

Len pointed a thumb at Lisa to show he was with her.

Flash let out a breath, “Okay, I’ll… let me bring you back to STAR labs. We’ll explain everything there.”

They did explain everything, sort of. A magic spell was making people reenact fairy tales, right down to the gruesome deaths. Len commandeered a marker.

 

FIX HOW?

 

His question broke through the general chatter.  The group looked at each other. No one made any suggestions.

“Don’t look at me.” Cisco held up his hands. “Magic is so not my field.”

“I ah-- I know where he is.” 

“You do?” Caitlin asked.

“Since when? Why didn’t you tell us?”

“I was patrolling. I ah, had to save Snart, I--”

Barry so bad at lying it was painful just to watch him. Len stepped forward, putting a hand on the kid’s shoulder. He turned Barry so they were facing each other. Their eyes met, locked. The moment held its breath around them.

Len knew he wasn’t the best at telling the truth, but this wasn’t about him. Barry was a hero. Barry was a better man then he would ever be and if he needed to be reminded of that every once in awhile, then Len would be there. His green eyes were bright under a haze of emotion.

“You were gone. I can’t do this alone and you were dead… I had to fix it. It was just an hour or two so I, I ran back. I changed the past.” 

Len cradled Barry’s face with one hand. Barry turned into the touch, his eyes fluttering closed. He took a slow shuddering breath. Len traced a thumb over his cheekbone, silently urging him to open his eyes. He couldn’t speak, but he carefully mouthed the words.

_ It won’t happen again. They won't hurt me. We won't let them.  _

He tried to put all the emotion he could into it. All his love and respect and trust.

Barry shook his head. “It wasn’t him though, it was…” recognition dawned, “It was this.” 

Barry leaned in and Len for all his sly wit and years of experience, froze on the spot. The kiss was soft, just lips and a faint hint of Barry’s tongue and he hoped it never stopped. 

The moment ended with Len’s ears ringing like a bell. He pulled in a shaky breath. Barry was looking at him uncertainly, his face as red as his suit. 

“Barry, I…” Len stopped. He was speaking actual words again and now that he thought about it, his feet weren’t hurting either, that was nice. Not that he could focus on anything other than the fact that Barry had kissed him.

“Lenny?” Barry was still uncertain.

Len nodded, there wasn’t time. “You and me are going to have a long conversation about that as soon as the city is no longer cursed.”

If possible Barry blushed even deeper, but he was nodding so that would have to do for now.

They both looked up at about the same time. Everyone else in the room was watching them with very mixed reactions. Cisco seemed to be stuck in wide eyed shock. Caitlin also seemed shocked, but she was flushed and biting her lip. Lisa hadn’t bothered with shock, she was openly leering.

“Someone has the hots for the hero huh?”

“You’re one to talk,” Len said in his dryest voice.

“As if.”

“Actually” Barry cleared his throat. He was looking very deliberately at a point on the floor. “Before I reset things you kind of used the magic to make a deal with Cisco. You’d tell us where the bad guy was and in exchange you got three days alone with him.”

“What?!” Cisco looked from Lisa to Barry, and back to Lisa again. “Why exactly did you reset the timeline again? Dude not cool. Do not temporally cockblock your wingman.”

“Sorry?”

“Okay, can we focus please?” Caitlin was still flushed but she was also right. Len said as much.

“Barry, in the other timeline, what did you see. What‘s doing all this?”

“A dragon. Well, a wizard who turned himself into a dragon.” Barry pulled over one of the boards, erased Len’s earlier question and sketched out a basic map of the Windsor Heights Park. He walked them through each step of the fight. By the end of the fight, Len had his arms crossed.

“Do you always go in without a plan?”

“Hey, you didn’t know he was going to turn into a dragon any more than I did and we didn’t have a lot of time. Don’t have a lot of time. The longer we stand around, the more people end up is stories with bad endings.

“Alright you have a point,” Len walked over to the board. “Let’s make this quick and clean. Cisco can get us there. You use your lightning to break the barrier. Then instead of focusing in him we aim for the fire, or rather I do. Barry, you keep him from finishing his chant or whatever. Sis, you’re on backup. If he does turn into a dragon, guild him.”

She drew her gold gun and smiled wickedly. “With pleasure.”

Len looked at Barry. “Any questions?”

He shook his head, “Let's go.”

 

<><><>

 

They came through Cisco’s portal with Barry out in front and already winding up for the lightning. No witty banter this time around. 

Len circled to the right so the others and the wizard, wouldn’t be in his line of fire. He picked a spot and took aim. 

Lisa change the magic dust into a shower of gold powder.

The barrier came down. The wizard was still chanting. Len pulled the trigger.

The purple bonfire screamed as the cold beam hit it. The flames hissed out. There was a burst of negative space in the air. The shockwave was far bigger than it should have been. Len braced himself, one arm up to shield his face. Lisa hadn’t been so lucky. She was slumped against the play structure, but still clearly alive so it would have to be enough. Barry was still unaccounted for.

All things considered step one and two had gone better than he’d thought. Here came three and four, right on schedule. Time to improvise.

The Wizard screamed at the sky in a language that hurt Len’s ears even with the partial deafness from the explosion. Len brought up the cold gun in time for a demon the size of a linebacker to tear its way through into their world.

It was big, it was red, it had horns and leathery scales, and it was charging straight for him. He pulled the trigger. The cold blast hit the demon center mass. Like the troll it kept coming. Len cranked up the intensity and braced himself. The demon took a another step, slower, then stopped. Lines of black frostbite spread from the center of it’s chest and covering the whole was a layer of frost. He didn’t waste time, stepping forward and smashing the but of the cold gun into the things face until it shattered. 

Distantly, Len heard the wizard yell something. He looked up just in time to see Flash take the wizard to the ground. They’d won.


	5. Chapter 5

There were things that needed to happen. The Wizard, who was apparently named Faust, had to be properly passed over to ARGUS. Injuries had to be looked after. The backlash of the spell had to be taken care of. 

Apparently when Len had put out the bonfire, all the fairy tales had abruptly ended. People snapping out of it in the middle of whatever they’d been doing. The girls picking flowers were fine. The kid who’d been climbing a beanstalk suddenly found himself hanging from the edge of an office building, not so much. 

There would be more than a few people dealing with upset lovers in the next few days. They would be the lucky ones. Not all the stories had Disney endings. In total, 8 people died and 22 others were recovering at Central City General. It could have been worse.

Len stuck around STAR labs long enough for Caitlin to give him a clean bill of health, then faded into the background.

Barry caught him just before the elevator. “I thought we were going to talk?”

“Yeah I guess so.” Len hesitated. When Batty started to talk, he held up a hand. “Thanks for breaking the curse. I guess I owe you one.”

“You helped me fight Faust. We’re even, but Lenny--”

“It didn’t mean anything,” Len interrupted. “I’m not going to hold you responsible for something you did under the influence.”

Barry bit his lip and looked at his shoes. “You were under the spell too.”

“And as soon as I get home, I’m going to dust off my bottle of vodka in an attempt to forget about that little fact.”

“Wow, didn’t realize my skills were so poor.”

“Scarlet--” Len had to stop himself. The banter was too easy to fall into, too natural. It always was, where Barry was concerned. He needed to nip this in the bud.

“I like you Scarlet. I have for a long time. The spell latched onto that and made you play your role. I understand it wasn’t your choice and this will be the end of it. May I go now?”

Barry was staring at him, eyes wide and staring at him like when he was under the spell. “No.”

“No?”

Suddenly Barry was pressed up against him, tipping his head so their mouths fit together. Len gasped into the kiss. Barry took advantage of it to nip at his lower lip. Before he could stop himself, Len’s hands settled on Barry’s hips, tugging him closer. The kiss slowly trailed off until they stood breathing each other’s air.

“I want to date you.”

“I believe I would be open to that.” Len’s chill was somewhat ruined by the roughness of his voice.

“I won’t be a very good boyfriend,” Barry warned. “I’m late to basically everything. I have to run off in the middle of dates because of Flash things. I’m the biggest nerd ever. If you thought it was Cisco you’re wrong. Iris says I have terrible taste in music. Oh and I’m not going to go easy on you when we’re, you know, out there.”  

Len considered that. “Apart from the punctuality I could probably give you a run for it in all those categories. Plus there’s my humor, my being a wanted criminal, my family.”

Barry stifled a laugh. “I think Lisa wouldn’t like hearing that.”

“Yes well, she is safely off with Cisco, doing things that I certainly don’t want to think about.”

Barry stepped back far enough to look at him properly. “We’re really going to try this?”

“We’ve saved the world Scarlet, how hard could it be?”

Barry groaned and let his head fall forward onto Len’s shoulder. “Just for that, when things go wrong, I’m blaming you.” but there was a smile in his voice, so Len figured it would be okay.

  
  
  


The end.


End file.
